Tindig Pilipinas

 

Tindig Pilipinas Shares: X MY POLITICAL AWAKENING: From Curiosity to Righteous Anger

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I first watched Rodrigo Duterte the way many Filipinos did - with cautious curiosity, not blind devotion.
Sa balita noon, parang milagro ang Davao.
Peaceful daw, orderly, disciplined.
Crime seemed controlled, streets looked calmer, and the narrative was seductive: “Kung kaya niya sa Davao, kaya niya sa buong Pilipinas.”
Hindi ko sya binoto, pero hindi rin ako kaagad kumontra.
I was observing, waiting, weighing.
Then the mask began to crack.
Nagsimula sa EJK - extrajudicial killings - na para bang naging normal na headline.
Bodies in alleys.
Police saying those killed were “nanlaban.”
Families grieving in silence.
At kasabay nito, ang bibig ni Duterte na parang basurahan: bastos, sexist, violent, mocking rape, mocking God, mocking decency.
The man who was supposed to unite the nation spoke like a street bully with a megaphone.
My curiosity turned into discomfort.
Then came the pandemic - and the real rot surfaced.
Habang naghihingalo ang bansa, may Pharmally. Billions in overpriced face shields, medical supplies bought from a tiny, shady company with almost no track record.
And instead of accountability?
Duterte ordered his Cabinet and officials not to attend the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.
Sa huli, hearings came and went - pero walang nakulong, walang tunay na mananagot.
So the people who were truly responsible for the Pharmally corruption walked away scot-free, while ordinary Filipinos paid the price in sickness, debt, and lost lives.
It felt less like leadership and more like a coordinated cover-up.
Kasabay nito, sinara ang ABS-CBN - the country’s largest media network - not because of law, but because of politics and ego. Rappler was harassed. Maria Ressa was targeted like a criminal for doing journalism.
The message was clear: “If you speak truth, you will be crushed.”
At doon lalo akong nawalan ng tiwala.
But the real breaking point came when I started digging deeper.
I learned about Michael Yang - Duterte’s close associate - linked to illegal drug operations, yet seemingly untouchable.
Then the magnetic lifters scandal: billions of pesos worth of shabu smuggled into the country right under government noses, allegedly with protection from the very people sworn to stop it.
Instead of hunting drug lords, Duterte seemed to be shielding them.
At doon naging malinaw ang pinakamasakit na katotohanan:
👉 Duterte did not wage a war on drugs - he reshaped it.
He protected his drug lord friends to kill competition and centralize the drug supply to his own cohorts.
The poor were hunted, humiliated, and killed - while the big syndicates walked free, enriched, and empowered under his watch.
And then came the betrayal that cut even deeper - the West Philippine Sea.
I realized Duterte had effectively “sold” part of our sovereign waters through his so-called “gentleman’s agreement” with Xi Jinping.
Instead of standing on the 2016 Hague ruling, he said that “it’s just a paper;” he chose silence, concession, and cozy financial deals with Beijing.
He sided with China for money and favors - not with Filipino fishermen for their rights.
That’s why today, China feels emboldened.
That’s why our fishermen are chased, harassed, and blocked.
That’s why our Philippine Coast Guard is water-cannoned and lasered in our own waters.
In my eyes, this was no longer just bad governance - it was a quiet surrender.
At that moment, my interest died.
What replaced it was indifference… then disgust… then anger.
Hindi lang siya nagkamali - he corrupted power.
Hindi lang siya pumalpak - he tore the social fabric of the nation.
He didn’t just govern; he polarized, weaponized lies, and unleashed troll armies that turned Filipinos against one another.
Families divided.
Friends blocked each other online.
Truth drowned in a sea of paid vloggers, fake pages, and manufactured outrage.
Instead of healing the nation, he fractured it.
From “Maybe he can change things,” I moved to:
👉 “He changed us - for the worse.”
Duterte did not just fail the Philippines - he hollowed it out.
He didn’t just rule - he ruled through fear.
He didn’t just lie - he industrialized disinformation.
He didn’t just neglect justice - he flipped it to serve criminals.
In my journey, curiosity turned into clarity.
And clarity turned into righteous anger.
Because history will not remember him as a good and strong leader -
it will remember him as the president who turned
justice into a joke,
truth into a target,
and Filipinos into enemies of one another.
And that is why I no longer just disagree with Duterte.
I CONDEMN him.
Not out of hate - but out of LOVE for a COUNTRY he betrayed.